What Can Home Health Software Do?

The right home care software solution will support home health agencies in client, workforce, business, and compliance management. It comes with essential features for improving the patient journey, automating administrative tasks, and tracking your business’ performance. It also gives your caregivers the tools they need to provide high-quality, empathetic care.

9 Essential Features of Home Health Care Software

Make sure that your choice of home healthcare software offers these key features.

#1 Scheduling

Your home health care software should help you reduce the time spent on scheduling, while also making it possible to respect your caregivers' preferred shift hours.

Look for the ability to set up team and recurring rosters, allocate multiple patients and care types per shift, and view individual client and worker schedules. Ideally, your team will be able to use the software to set their availability so you can cut down on emails.

#2 Job Board

With a job board, approved caregivers can bid on shifts, from new patients to sick cover. Your home healthcare software will then update the schedule, allowing you to quickly organize new clients' first home visits.

#3 Client-Caregiver Matching

Selecting the most appropriate caregiver for each patient is key to providing person-centered care. Check that the home health care software will allow you to create detailed client and caregiver profiles and use filters to create better client-caregiver matches.

#4 Care Documentation

A care documentation management system is essential. Make sure that it will allow your home health care agency to share relevant patient information with assigned caregivers in a HIPAA-compliant way.

Look for an app that enables your care team to securely access and add patient records. Ideally, you'll also be able to create document templates so that you can improve progress note quality.

#5 Time and Attendance

Prioritize home health care software that allows your caregivers to clock in and out via an app. For additional time savings, make sure you can also set automated verification of time logs based on geolocation data.

#6 Accounting Integration

With accounting and payroll integrations, your home healthcare software will help you file your taxes and run payroll quicker and easier. Plus, you'll reduce the risk of human error.

#7 Auto-Generated Invoicing

You’ll save hours of time when your home health agency software can auto-generate bills based on the shift record and time logs. Look for an all-in-one home health care software solution so that you don't need to copy and paste data over.

#8 Mobile Caregiver App

With a secure app for caregivers, your care team will be able to set their availability, check their schedules, view patient information, and add nursing notes on the go. They'll have the tools they need to make the best caregiving decisions, and your home care business will benefit from automated communications.

#9 Portal for Clients' Loved Ones

When family members are involved in a client's care, it leads to a better quality of life for the patient. A dedicated platform for loved ones makes it easy to provide updates and set family members' and friends' minds at ease. Make sure the care management software allows you to share information including service records and billing history.

What Else Should You Look For in Your Home Health Care Software?

The best home care software doesn't just have these essential features. It also offers you:

HIPAA Compliance

Data security and privacy are major concerns for home health agencies, with HIPAA violations carrying serious penalties. Opt for HIPAA-compliant home care software so that you can share patient information with caregivers in a secure, appropriate manner.

Ease of Use

Your home healthcare software should be simple to use, no matter how technophobic your team is. Make sure it has an intuitive interface and comes with user-friendly features such as voice-to-text care notes.

Excellent Support

When something goes wrong, you don’t want to waste three days waiting for an email response. A live customer service chat will ensure that your home health care business gets the support it needs straightaway. Look for positive reviews and a high customer service satisfaction rating, too.

How to Pick the Right Home Health Software

A home health care software solution might look great on paper, but how can you know if it's a good fit for your business? These tips will help you make the decision.

Outline Your Goals

What do you want from your home health care software? For example, your goals could be:

• Less time spent on admin work

• A higher quality of care

• Simplified client management

For greater clarity, rank your goals in order of importance.

Identify Your Priorities

Split your desired features and traits into two columns: "essential" and "nice to have." For example, you could put "user-friendly" in the first column and "a dedicated account manager" in the second. Having made these decisions, you'll find it easier to compare home health care software solutions.

Sign Up for a Free Trial

A free trial gives you time to discover whether the home healthcare software will help or hinder your team. Invite several members of staff, including back-office workers and caregivers, to try out the software and give you feedback.

Home Care Software Built Around Agencies' Needs

ShiftCare's HIPAA-compliant home care software empowers home care agencies to deliver exceptional care while reducing costs and streamlining admin tasks. In addition to scheduling, documentation management, and billing features, it comes with an app for caregivers and a portal for patients' loved ones. Our clients find they can reduce the time they spend on admin work by up to 90%.

Discover how your agency can thrive with home care software. Try ShiftCare for free.